2011–12
The 2011–12 season was the 129th season of football played by Bristol Rovers, and their 85th in the Football League. The team spent it in League Two, the fourth level of English football, after having been relegated from League One at the end of 2010–11. The footballing year began with a new manager at the helm and an almost entirely new playing staff. Despite early optimism things rapidly turned sour, and after a run of 8 league games without a win, stretching from the beginning of November to the start of January, he was relieved of his duties after just a few months in the job. Many fans had turned against the manager long before this point, not helped by the very public falling out he had with previous club captain and caretaker manager Stuart Campbell which saw Campbell leave the club in December. Buckle's assistant Shaun North was left in charge of the first team until a replacement could be found. He was thrown in at the deep end as his first ever game as a professional manager was an FA Cup tie against Premier League side Aston Villa, in a game screened live on national television. North remained in charge for three games, recording one win and one draw in the league to go with the defeat to Villa in the cup. On 18 January the club named Mark McGhee as the new manager and he immediately brought about an upturn in form, with very few changes to Buckle's playing staff. He also opted to keep North on as assistant boss to help with the transitional period, rather than bringing in his own man. This no doubt helped speed up the new manager's familiarity with the strengths and weaknesses of each member of the squad. The Gas ended the season comfortably in mid table, finishing 13th, which although was significantly below the pre-season expectations of promotion, it was something of a relief considering the team's flirtation with the relegation zone towards the end of Buckle's tenure at the helm. Season summary Fixtures Pre-season :See 2011–12 pre-season for more details The club arranged nine pre-season warmup matches, three nominally at home, although one of those was played at Twerton Park, and six away. There was originally a game scheduled against Kidderminster Harriers on 26 July, but after a game against Reading was arranged on the same day Kiddy pulled out of the fixture as they wanted to face a full strength team and Rovers would only play a reserve XI. 1 Game played at Twerton Park Competitive matches Squad Discipline Only bookings received while playing for Bristol Rovers are included in this list. Cautions received while out on loan, prior to joining or after leaving The Gas are not given. League table * Port Vale deducted 10 points for entering administration. League progress The chart below shows Rovers' progress in the league table over the course of the 2011–12 season. The x-axis shows the number of games played and the y-axis represents The Pirates' position in the league at that point of the season. Team kit The kit manufacturer was again Erreà, who have been providing team wear since 2005. The home kit featured the traditional blue and white quarters, while the away kit, which was also quartered, was black and green. As has been the norm at the club since the 2009–10 season, the shirt sponsor was selected via a random draw from a number of companies who paid to take part. This years first prize winners, and sponsors of the home shirt, were McCarthy Waste Management, while the away shirt sponsors were Edinburgh-based couriers ITS. There was also a third place prize in the draw, which was sponsorship of the South Stand at the Memorial Stadium, and that went to Brunel Professional Risks. The club's announcement of the winners can be found at http://www.bristolrovers.co.uk/page/LatestNews/0,,10328~2327731,00.html Transfers Players in Players out Category:Seasons Category:2011 Category:2012